Gertrude Michael

This is an uneven melodrama on the tragic life of Pima Indian Ira Hayes, one of the men who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima. The story picks up with Hayes (Tony Curtis) leaving his reservation in Arizona to join the Marines, enter boot camp, and start to adapt to the life of a Marine. Hayes becomes good friends with Sorenson (James Franciscus), and it is this friendship that sustains him in a white man's world. But as time goes by and the moment immortalized on Iwo Jima ends, Hayes goes into a decline, being unconvinced there was any heroism involved in his actions during the war and never being able to adjust to civilian life. At this point in time, no one recognized the afflictions common to all soldiers after long years in battle, and the death of Sorenson is blamed for Hayes' downfall. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

With the exception of the vastly superior Caged, Columbia's Women's Prison was the quintessential "babes behind bars" drama of the 1950s. Ida Lupino (who else?) stars as Amelia VanZant, the sadistic supervisor of the titular prison. Unable to establish any sort of relationship with a man, Amelia takes it out on her long-suffering inmates. When prison psychiatrist Clark (Howard Duff) tries to improve conditions for the women, he too is targetted for destruction by the vituperous Ms. VanZant. The cast includes such perennial "hard-boiled dames" as Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Gertrude Michael and Mae Clarke. Not taken very seriously in the first place, Women's Prison was elevated to the level of "high camp" by youthful film buffs of the 1960s and 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During the Civil War, Colonel Kern Shafter (played by Ray Milland) and Captain Edward Garnett (played by Hugh Marlowe) become embroiled in a conflict, the cause of which is somewhat cloudy. As a result, Shafter leaves the Eastern Cavlary and moves West, where he is able to re-enlist. Ten years later, Shafter is reassigned to an outpost in the Dakota Territory -- one that is commanded by his old nemesis Garnett. Garnett takes advantage of his authority to assign Shafter to the most dangerous missions, clearly hoping that he will not return from one of them. Things are not made any easier by the fact that both men fall in love with the same woman (played by Helena Carter). The situation comes to a climax during the Battle of Little Big Horn, when both men attempt to put an end to their personal war as hundreds of others are slaughtered around them. Victorious, Shafter manages to survive the massacre and return to claim the woman he loves. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Caged, considered the best woman's prison film ever made, represents a union between realistic socially conscious drama and the more stylized world of film noir. Marie, (Eleanor Parker), is sentenced to prison for helping her husband in a small robbery. The prison is run by the sadistic matron Evelyn (Hope Emerson) who is secure in her position due to corrupt political influence. The film shows Marie's slow disillusionment with society and her eventual decision to become a prostitute in order to gain parole after observing her friend and fellow inmate Kitty (Betty Garde) lose her sanity and murder their oppressor Evelyn. With this uncompromisingly pessimistic statement on human nature, John Cromwell reaches his peak as a director. Under his expert direction, Eleanor Parker gives the best performance of her career and creates a convincing metamorphosis from a innocent young girl to a hardened criminal. Her performance is nuanced, low-keyed and emotionally charged. Equally impressive is Cromwell's visual realization of the claustrophobia of prison life, aided by the high-contrast photography of Carl Guthrie. This excellent, grim drama is uncompromising in its refusal to sentimentalize the plight of Marie as a victim or to absolve her of her role in her fate, nor does it absolve society as it shows the results of desperation and brutalization on human dignity. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

That Wonderful Urge is the second remake of Love is News (37), and is much closer to the original than the first remake (the Betty Grable musical Sweet Rosie O'Grady). Tyrone Power repeats his role from the 1937 film as a handsome reporter who targets a flighty heiress (Gene Tierney, taking over from Loretta Young) for ridicule. Sick of unwanted public attention, the heiress announces that she has secretly married Power, forcing him to endure the spotlight for a change. Several crosses and double-crosses later, Power and Tierney find that they're really in love after all. Personal item: This writer's favorite version of Love is News is the 1940 radio adaptation, which starred a wildly adlibbing Bob Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three's a Crowd is the misleadingly lighthearted title for this tense Republic murder mystery. When her fiance is mysteriously killed, heiress Diane Whipple (Pamela Blake) reluctantly agrees to marry Jeffrey Locke (Charles Gordon). Since both Diane and Jeffrey visited the dead man just before the murder, both are under suspicion-and neither completely trusts the other. Screenwriter Dane Lussier characteristically overloads the film with red herrings, misleading clues and surprise plot twists. When it's all over, it's a wonder that even the people on screen know exactly what's happened! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The luridly titled Women in Bondage was Monogram's "answer" to RKO Radio's wartime melodrama Hitler's Children. The plot concerns the nationalization and subjugation of Germany's women during the Third Reich. Expected to devote their every waking moment to the cause of Nazism -- and this includes bearing strong Aryan children for Der Fatherland -- several women, notably Margot Bracken (Gail Patrick), begin to rebel. When she finally determines that Hitler has gone to far in his regimentation of the populace, Margot casts her lot with the Allies, becoming a martyr to the cause of freedom. Unusually well-acted for a Monogram film, Women in Bondage boasts an especially strong cast, including Nancy Kelly, Gertrude Michael, Anne Nagel, Tala Birell and H.B. Warner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Veteran film actor Tully Marshall makes his final appearance in PRC's Behind Prison Walls. A reworking of a familiar theme, the story finds scheming steel tycoon James J. MacGlennon (Marshall) and his high-minded lawyer son Jonathan (Alan Baxter) simultaneously ending up behind bars. While incarcerated, Jonathan tries to mend his larcenous father's ways, thereby drawing closer to his not-so-bad dad. Together, father and son scheme to legally outwit the elder MacGlennon's unscrupulous business partners. Meanwhile, Jonathan's sweetheart Elinor Cantwell (Gertrude Michael) waits patiently on the "outside". One of the better PRC efforts of its time, Behind Prison Walls is a gentle comedy with pointed sociological undertones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The macabre, overripe war melodrama Prisoner of Japan was produced and directed by the always fascinating Arthur Ripley. Alan Baxter plays the title character, astronomical researcher David Bowman. Stationed on a remote Pacific Island, Bowman is captured by Japanese secret agent Matsuru (Ernst Dorian) when the island is invaded. Ordered to cooperate with the Japanese captors, Bowman is expected to utilize his talents to guide enemy submarines towards American battleships, lest harm befall his sweetheart Toni Chase (Gertrude Michael). Eventually, however, hero and heroine are able to communicate with the U.S. fleet and foil the villains -- but the price is a precious one. Corinna Mura, best remembered as the guitar-playing nightclub singer in Casablanca, plays a major role in Prisoner of Japan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This entry in MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series focuses on customs evasion. It shows how even wealthy people, not just career criminals and smugglers, attempt to evade paying customs tax on items they bring back from overseas. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Hollywood's Otto Kruger and Gertrude Michael head the cast of the British The Hidden Menace. The story takes place in a Vienna variety theatre, where a mad magician named Garvin (Kruger) periodically disposes of his romantic rivals by means of one of his deadlier hypnotic devices. His current target his high-wire artist Paul (John Clements), who is paying an inordinate amount of attention to Garvin's sweetheart, a dnacer named Yester (Gertrude Michael). The villain gets his comeuppance when one of his previous victims seemingly returns from the dead to mete out justice. Saving the film from wallowing in its melodramatic excesses are the comic interludes by pantomimist Gene Sheldon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Universal Studios had their "B" musicals down to a science in the 1940s. All that was needed was a cast of talented contractees, four or five modest production numbers, and a title based on a popular song hit. In I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby, Broderick Crawford plays a sentimental gangster who abducts songwriter Johnny Downs and forces him to write a love ballad. It is Crawford's hope that the song will reach out and touch his long-lost childhood sweetheart. I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby was based on James Edward Grant's short story Trouble in B Flat; echoes of the basic premise later resurfaced in the 1957 "A" picture The Girl Can't Help It. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide